A story of people, institutions, memory, and renewal
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At FSE 2026 in Montreal, the software engineering community gathered to mark fifty years of SIGSOFT and to ask what the next fifty should make possible.
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The celebration brought together reflections on SIGSOFT's role in the field, recognition of lasting contributions, remembrance of colleagues who shaped the community, and questions about what SIGSOFT should make possible next.
SIGSOFT50 was organized around a simple arc: understand the role SIGSOFT has played, honor the people who built the field, remember colleagues whose work shaped the community, and gather ideas for the future.
The celebration begins by naming SIGSOFT's role: a volunteer-led professional society that supports the research, publication, conference, policy, and community infrastructure software engineering depends on.
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Opening welcome
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+ Fifty years in Montreal
+ What is SIGSOFT?
+ The community gathers
+ The field takes shape
+ A growing discipline
+ Infrastructure that works when it is invisible
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What SIGSOFT means
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+ Why celebrate fifty years?
+ What the day should accomplish
+ The plan for the celebration
+ Looking back
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+ Act 02
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Recognition: The SIGSOFT Software Engineering Academy
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The celebration introduces the Academy as a standing body of honor, recognizing members of the software engineering community whose significant and lasting contributions shaped the field.
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+ Writing SIGSOFT into public memory
+ SIGSOFT on Wikipedia
+ Shared history
+ What the public record captures
+ A bridge to recognition
+ The Academy's purpose
+ What the Academy honors
+ Selecting the inaugural class
+ The inaugural class begins
+ People behind the field
+ Research lineages
+ Influence across areas
+ Honoring sustained contribution
+ A collective foundation
+ The field as a network
+ Recognition as stewardship
+ Back to SIGSOFT
+ Get involved
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+ Act 03
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Memory: History and Remembrance
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The celebration turns to SIGSOFT history and then to remembrance, acknowledging colleagues whose scholarship, leadership, and service continue to shape the community.
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+ SIGSOFT history
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Looking back together
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Remembering David Notkin
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+ SIGSOFT remembers
+ Nico Habermann
+ Harlan Mills
+ John D. Gannon
+ John Vlissides
+ Meir "Manny" Lehman
+ David Notkin
+ Mary Jean Harrold
+ William Riddle
+ John C. Knight
+ Les Belady
+ Ivica Crnkovic
+ Barry Boehm
+ Niklaus Wirth
+ Dewayne E. Perry
+ Koichi Kishida
+ Peter G. Neumann
+ Panel transition
+ Coffee break
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+ Act 04
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Future: Questions for the Next Fifty Years
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The final part turns outward: welcoming research communities, convening a forward-looking panel, and inviting participants to design the future of SIGSOFT together.
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Hello from research
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+ Looking forward
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A bridge to the future
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+ The forward-looking panel
+ Meet the panelists
+ Questions that matter
+ Interactive futures workshop
+ Workshop goal
+ Sticky-note prompt
+ Themes for discussion
+ Questions to discuss
+ Showtime
+ Discussion and thanks
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Reference
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Program Materials
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The full opening program is also available as a compact PDF for archival use.